Thermoformed plastic containers are well known as inexpensive and highly customizable containers for the sale of a wide variety of products, everything from cell phones to deli meats. Thermoformed plastic containers can be transparent and rigid, to let a consumer examine a product closely. They can be lightweight, and may be efficiently stored or shipped together in a nested fashion. It is easy to include product information and cosmetic features in these types of containers, for example with stickers or cards glued to the outside of the containers, with embossing molded into the containers, or with paper inserts inside the containers. For these and other reasons, thermoformed plastic containers can be superior to other available options for product containers, such as cardboard or metal boxes, bags, metal cans, or paper cartons.
Thermoformed containers can include features that make it more difficult to access the contents of the container without being noticed, to form a tamper-resistant container. In a retail electronics setting, for example, tamper-resistance can reduce shoplifting.
In a retail food setting, tamper-resistance can improve food safety by reducing the risk that the product could be partially consumed or contaminated. In retail food settings like a deli counter in a grocery store or in a conventional fast-food or takeout restaurant, it can also be beneficial to provide a container that can be assembled when needed at the point of use, for example after putting a sandwich or other food in the container.
What is needed is a thermoformed container system that includes tamper-resistant features that make it difficult to open without detection, yet easy to open by the end consumer, and preferably allowing assembly on demand by unskilled personnel without specialized machinery or tools.